With her form shrouded in shadow, the Four of Spades crept along the
black, red, and white castle hallway. In her hands she held some old
water skins that had been worn too thin to be used for travel, but
were still good enough to hold a decent amount of water.

She had happened upon them while sneaking through the kitchens for a
cookie or two, in the trash pile bound to be thrown out at the end of
the day. So, since nobody had wanted them anymore, the young Spade
had decided to have a little fun.

Carefully avoiding her mother's tea parlor, where she and the other
Queens were having a nice long afternoon chat
over some finger sandwiches. No doubt Four would be in there later
for a good reprimand once her little prank was done, but it was well
worth it. Seven of Diamonds deserved it, for excluding most of the
other female cards from her garden party, and for constantly flirting
with Ace of Clubs, when she knew Five of Hearts liked him.

Once she was safely past the Queen's parlor, she ducked behind an
old bronze statue of a past Ace of Spades. The sound of the four
Kings' footsteps was fast approaching, and it sounded as if they
weren't alone.

"Father, do you really think it is wise to marry Two of Hearts and
Six of Spades?" Jack of Hearts asked.

"Of course it is! They seem the best of friends when we visit Spade
Castle." The King of Hearts replied to his son. "They will easily
learn to love one another."

Jack of Hearts had a worried look on his face. He opened his mouth to
protest, but his father was already debating with the King of Clubs
on the possible unions for Ten of Clubs.

Four stifled a giggle that went seemingly unnoticed by the group as
they passed by. Jack of Hearts would know. He constantly played
peacemaker between his sister and Six of Spades.

Those two always fought when their parents weren't around. Once,
when they were younger, they had gotten into a fight by the stables
just after it had rained and after a few excruciatingly painful
minutes of the other cards trying to separate them, they were taken
to their parents for punishment. Besides being extremely dirty and
wet, they sported many cuts and bruises, as did the other cards that
had tried to break them up. Some of them still had the scars. Four in
particular had a small one on her side that was just barely visible
now, years later.

When the coast was clear, Four crept out from her hiding spot and
around the corner. After making her way down the crimson carpeted
stone stairs, she made her way to the Royal Breakfast Room just off
of the grand staircase that led to the entranceway of the castle.

Through there was the balcony off which she would execute her
assault.

"Four! What are you doing?"

Four whipped around to come face to face with Jack of Hearts.

"Shhhh! How did you know I was here?"

"You left a trail."

Upon a closer inspection of the carpet, there were indeed small dark
spots following Four's trail.

"Ugh! One of them must have started leaking without my knowing it!"
Four nodded to the water skins she carried. Indeed, one of them had
begun to leak, and was soaking the hem of her dress with an ever
increasing drip.